1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of battery assembly, and in particular relates to the art of stacking battery plates and separators for use in such battery assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art disclosures relating to automatic stacking equipment of battery plate and separator elements have been noted for their complexity, and may be demonstrated by teachings in patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,982,624 and 4,168,772. In prior art patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,772, for example, apparatus is disclosed that is characterized by such mechanical complexity in a form of escapement mechanisms, hold back devices, spring and retaining fingers, vibrators, separator and fluffing means, clamps, gates, advancing or stacking chains and knife means. A reason for the above mentioned complexity lies in a complicated arrangement for selecting a topmost plate or separator element from a chute containing a plurality of such elements. As the plates, for example, are located within the chutes in a downwardly facing orientation at each station in the prior art stacking machine, it is necessary that the leading plate in the chute be positioned at a certain fixed distance with respect to the vacuum pickup in order to achieve successful withdrawal therefrom. This is provided by use of a descending spring finger that is positioned above the chute. The spring finger freely engages the upper plate edges at a location where there are a plurality of plates between a discharge point at the end of the chute and the spring finger. The spring finger functions in a manner to urge the plates forward in the chute against the two retaining fingers.
After urging a plurality of plates toward the discharge point at the end of the chute and against the two retaining fingers, a knife edge is driven between the first and second plates in the chutes at the same time that a resilient member descends to engage their upper surfaces except for the first plate. Separating the first plate from the stack and engaging the remaining thereof with a resilient member enables the vacuum pickup to remove the lead plate without disturbing the other plates.
Other complexities of the prior art above-mentioned involve the use of vibrators to order to create within the chute a vibratory action whereby the separators are made to lie flat therein. This mechanical arrangement involves use of a plurality of eccentrics for creating the vibratory action within the chute so that it tends to shake down the separators evenly and therefore maintain their bottom edges in a flat orientation.
It will become readily apparent herein that the instant invention is characterized by relative simplicity in design and operation vis-a-vis the prior art above discussed. This simplicity in overall design characteristics results in economics of scale and overall improved system performance.
Furthermore, in view of the jet sensor utilized with each vacuum pickup of this invention, there is no requirement that a plate or separator be located at a fixed position with respect to the vacuum pickup as in the prior art. In the present invention therefore, the vacuum pickup selects a plate or separator wherever it may be located in a chute, rather than having the pickup position itself with respect to the element at a fixed location as in the prior art.
The air jet proximity detector of this invention permits simplified chute design for storing plates and separators elements in processing by the automatic stacker, since the elements can be stored therein with an upright orientation so that the elements can be freely removed therefrom. Hence, any need for vibratory action, spring and retaining fingers, knife separators and the like with respect to the chute is obviated.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel apparatus and method for stacking battery plates and separator elements in the form of a sandwich that is relatively simple in design and operation.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment, and the appended claims, as well as elsewhere herein.